Claudia Natanson

Chair, UK Cyber Security Council
VP Information Security, Accuweather

MSc Computer Science, 1992
PhD, Education & Computing, 1995

My time at Birmingham is the single thing that provided me with the confidence and belief that anything is achievable if you really want to achieve it

I completed both an MSc and PhD from the University Birmingham and graduated with high energy and determination to put into action all that I had both learned, experienced, and wanted to do from a professional point of view.

That led me to roles in organisations including British Telecommunications, The European Commission and the world Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams.

The next Stop was Diageo. In my role as Chief Information Security Officer and with a love of education a part of my degree I was able to create programs for awareness company-wide as well as extend it into a community-wide global project for children, education, and schools in countries in which I worked.

I then helped positions at a range of different companies, helping to develop and implement security transformation, including at the Department for Work and Pensions.

Today I continue my practice with AccuWeather Technologies, which provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide.

I am also Chair of the Board of Trustees for the UK Cyber Security Council where I carry out the UK government’s mandate to set the benchmark for the cyber security profession, to be a steward to uphold the highest levels of professional capability, diversity, ethics, and integrity.

At Birmingham, the courses, lecturers and the ambiance of the campus, were very fulfilling. Courses were extremely challenging, and it certainly made you dig deep inside you to find the resolve to complete and be successful in taking on the challenge. My time there is also the single thing that provided me with the motivation that helped to fill my confidence and self-belief levels that anything is achievable, again depending on how badly you want to achieve it. I found the lecturers didn’t wrap you in cotton wool but gave you the support you needed when doubt crept in and reminded you could do it. I loved the building, the campus and being surrounded by history.

Though my background was Computer Science, I wanted a deeper understanding of Education as I felt that the world of Computer Science would need both, and this led me to my PhD. The area I was able to work within the school of Education was Special Educational Needs. I had two amazing Supervisors in both Computing and the School of Education. 

We Are Birmingham Alumni

Claudia

“In the School of Education, I was able to learn so much about the psychology of education and about learning in general. It certainly has remained a major part of my approach to building successful security programs and working with people and across all age groups.”